Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Words Ireland is offering 11 literature mentoring relationships in 2017, six of which are offered in partnership with the Arts Offices of Leitrim, Limerick, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and the Arts Office and Libraries of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Words Ireland are seeking expressions of interest from experienced and established writer-mentors working in the areas of adult fiction, children’s/YA fiction and/or poetry to undertake the mentoring of writers of promise who are working in the same forms.

We are also are also seeking writers of adult fiction, YA fiction, children’s fiction and poetry to apply for mentoring support under our National Mentoring Programme.

There are a total of 11 mentee opportunities open to writers resident in any county in Ireland, north or south of the border.

Presentations will be
followed by readings and an open mike session, giving opportunities to
participants who would like to showcase their work in a public setting. This
will take place on the Saturday. There will a special presentation for
winners in the student categories on Friday, 20 October.

Trophy prizes will be awarded to Highly Commended
entries in the various categories (poetry, prose/short stories)

Beneath Western Skies anthology will be published from this year's school entries.

Competition Rules of Entry

Poetry not more than
100 lines and short story/prose not to extend beyond 2000 words. Entries
submitted must be typed and titled, accompanied by entrant's name written on
a separate page. The judges' decision is final.

Competition Entry Fee

€10 for up to three
entries. Entries may include poetry and/or prose.

Deadline: 1 September, 2017.

They can be submitted online
or sent to: Mary Butler, a/County Librarian, Roscommon County Council Library
Services, Abbey Street, Roscommon

Cheques, postal orders
should be made payable to SiarScéal Festival Group. Payments
by credit/debit card may be made via PayPal – see Competitions
page for details.

Friday, 9 June 2017

The inaugural crime writing festival Dead in Dun Laoghaire will take place over one day on Saturday 22nd July at The Pavilion Theatre Dun Laoghaire.

Following her runaway global success with The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins will be discussing her new bestselling follow-up novel, Into the Water.

International bestseller, world class forensic anthropologist and the inspiration behind the hit TV series Bones, Kathy Reichs will be launching her brand new standalone thriller, Two Nights, featuring a smart, tough, talented heroine whose thirst for justice stems from her own dark past.

Fans of Irish authors won’t be disappointed with prize-winners John Banville and Stuart Neville discussing their new crime novels Prague Nights and Here and Gone; and what it’s like to write under the pen names Benjamin Black and Haylen Beck. Another pair of prize-winners, bestsellers and book club favourites, Liz Nugent and Karen Perry will be discussing their latest books along with the challenges of getting inside the head of a psychopath and exploring the dark worlds to which their novels take them.

Tickets and full details for each event are available from the Pavilion Theatre box office and website: http://www.paviliontheatre.ie/events/category/literary

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Words by
Water

The first Kinsale Literary Festival, is taking place
in October and promises a host of entertainment for readers and
writers.
We are running two competitions - short story & poetry for your
consideration.

Short
Story Competition

Words By Water: Kinsale Literary Festival is
delighted to welcome entries to the Words By Water Short Story
Award. Writers are invited to submit a short story of up to 2000
words, for consideration by judge Sarah Moore Fitzgerald.

Poetry Competition​

Words By Water: Kinsale Literary Festival is
delighted to welcome entries to the Words By Water Poetry Award. Poets
are invited to submit up to three poems, up to a maximum of 30
lines, for consideration by judge Niall MacMonagle.
Theme: open

Poems should be in English, must be the entrant's own work and should not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere (including online), should not have won another poetry competition or be the translated work of another poet. They must be typed and not longer than 40 lines (excluding title).

Deadline 31st July

Prizes
First Prize £1000 Second £500, Third £250

Entry fee £5 for first poem and £4 for each subsequent poem

Sole Judge: Sarah Howe.

Prize-giving will be on Saturday 14th October 2017 at a special event as part of the Winchester Poetry Day. Winners & runners-up will be invited to read their winning poems at the event. Winning poems will be published in a Prize anthology

Thursday, 1 June 2017

The Heinrich Böll cottage in Dugort, Achill has been in use as a residency for artists and writers since 1992.The Residency at the Böll Cottage is designed to achieve the following;– To provide a secluded and private environment for writers and Artists to do their work, a space where artists can be away from their usual environment and routine, in a place conducive to their needs, and to producing high quality work.– To provide access for the resident island community to high quality, professional standard, cultural and artistic events. This is achieved through readings and exhibitions – visits to local schools etc, organised in a manner which does not distract the resident artist from their main creative work, while at the cottage.– To build on the existing tradition and reputation of Achill island as an area of interest to writers and artists. The residency attracts interest from professional artists from an international base – hence focusing on the island as an area of cultural and artistic interest.– To have an appropriate memorial to Heinrich Böll on Achill island. The residency, by providing support for artists, is a living, growing and creative way to celebrate the work and achievement of Nobel Prize winner Heinrich Böll. This project, in memory of Heinrich Böll, makes available a real tangible support structure for creative artists, and is therefore a most appropriate memorial to this important writer.Link here